Breaking: Michael Seri is a Gunner, £36m seals deal

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According to the Mirror, Arsenal have been handed a major boost in our pursuit of Jean-Michael Seri after Barcelona cleared the way for us to snap-up the £36m Nice midfielder.

Arsene Wenger has made no secret of his desire to further strengthen our squad after only bringing-in Sead Kolasinac and Alexandre Lacazette so far this summer.

A new attacker has been widely reported to be the bosses priority but we’ve also been tipped to sign another central midfielder and Seri has emerged as a prime target in recent weeks.

The Daily Mail reported earlier this month that Arsenal were planning to make a late swoop for the Ivory Coast international during the latter stages of the transfer window but were facing stiff competition from Barcelona.

The Catalans are flush with cash following Neymar’s world record £199m move to Paris Saint-Germain and it looked like they had earmarked Seri as a player to strengthen their squad.

However, the Mirror are citing a report from Mundo Deportivo that claims Barca have now pulled out of the race as they are unwilling to meet Seri’s £36m buyout clause and Nice will refuse to sell for anything less.

It means Arsenal are now clear to make their swoop for the 26-year-old but we may have to wait until Nice play their Champions League play off with Napoli before trying to lure him to the Emirates.

If the French outfit crash out, then Seri is far more likely to join Arsenal so let’s hope they don’t make it through to the group stages of the competition.

Seri would be an excellent signing as he’s developed in to one of the best all-round midfielders in French football and contributed 7 goals and 9 assists to help Nice finish third in Ligue 1 last season.